Paul Victor Godfrey,
CM,
OOnt (born January 12, 1939) is a businessman and former Canadian politician.
During his career, Godfrey was a
North York
North York is a former township and city and is now one of the six administrative districts of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the northern area of Toronto, centred around Yonge Street, north of Ontario Highway 401. It is bounded by ...
alderman, Chairman of Metro Toronto, President of the ''
Toronto Sun
The ''Toronto Sun'' is an English-language tabloid format, tabloid newspaper published daily in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The newspaper is one of several ''Sun'' tabloids published by Postmedia Network. The newspaper's offices are located at Pos ...
'' and head of the
Toronto Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Since 1989, the team has p ...
. He was instrumental in bringing the Toronto Blue Jays to
Toronto
Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
and has campaigned to bring the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...
to Toronto. He is the former president and CEO of
Postmedia Network
Postmedia Network Canada Corp. (also known as Postmedia Network, Postmedia News or Postmedia) is an American-owned Canadian-based media conglomerate consisting of the publishing properties of the former Canwest, with primary operations in En ...
.
Background
Born in
Toronto
Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
, Ontario, Godfrey grew up in a working class Jewish family near the
Kensington Market
Kensington Market is a distinctive multicultural neighbourhood in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Market is an older neighbourhood and one of the city's best-known. In November 2006, it was designated a National Historic Sites of Canada, ...
neighbourhood of Toronto, the son of Bess (Greenbaum) and Philip Godfrey.
[Al Parker. Five Questions for Paul Godfrey. Toronto Sun. December 20, 2008. ]
He later moved to the
Bathurst and
Lawrence area of Toronto.
After graduating from
C.W. Jefferys Collegiate Institute, he attended the
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...
and graduated with a
Bachelor of Applied Science
A Bachelor of Applied Science (BAS or BASc) is an undergraduate academic degree of applied sciences.
Usage
In Canada, the Netherlands and other places the Bachelor of Applied Science (BASc) is equivalent to the Bachelor of Engineering, and is cl ...
in
chemical engineering
Chemical engineering is an engineering field which deals with the study of the operation and design of chemical plants as well as methods of improving production. Chemical engineers develop economical commercial processes to convert raw materials ...
.
In 1999, he was made a Member of the
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit.
To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...
.
In 2010, he was appointed to the
Order of Ontario
The Order of Ontario is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of Ontario. Instituted in 1986 by Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, Lieutenant Governor Lincoln Alexander, on the Advice (constitutional), advice of the Executive Council ...
.
His underbite jaw was surgically corrected in August 1981, a trait for which he had been satirized for years.
Politics
He entered politics as an
alderman
An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denotin ...
in
North York
North York is a former township and city and is now one of the six administrative districts of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the northern area of Toronto, centred around Yonge Street, north of Ontario Highway 401. It is bounded by ...
in 1964, serving until 1973.
In 1970, he was appointed to North York's
Board of Control to fill a vacancy caused by the death of Controller John Booth. He also joined
Metropolitan Toronto Council for the first time, by virtue of being a Controller. He was re-elected to the Board of Control in 1969. In 1973, he was appointed
Chairman
The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...
of
Metropolitan Toronto
The Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto was an upper-tier level of municipal government in Ontario, Canada, from 1953 to 1998. It was made up of the old city of Toronto and numerous townships, towns and villages that surrounded Toronto, whic ...
following the death of Metro chairman
Albert Campbell, and served until 1984.
Godfrey was credited with backing a campaign led by pro-development Conservatives and Liberals united behind the candidacy of
Art Eggleton, to unseat the left-wing Toronto mayor
John Sewell.
In 1985, it was reported Godfrey had joined the new Ontario Premier
Frank Miller's informal "kitchen cabinet", a group which met on Thursday mornings at the
Sutton Place Hotel
The Sutton Place Hotel Toronto is a Canadian luxury hotel located in Toronto, Ontario. The current Sutton Place Hotel Toronto is situated at 355 King Street West. Between 1967 and 2012, the hotel occupied a grand building on Bay Street.
The hotel ...
to discuss issues of the day during breakfast. This was similar to a "breakfast club" set up by the previous premier,
Bill Davis
William Grenville Davis, (July 30, 1929 – August 8, 2021) was a Canadian politician who served as the 18th premier of Ontario from 1971 to 1985. Behind Oliver Mowat, Davis was the List of premiers of Ontario by time in office, second-longes ...
, but with a more right-wing bent.
Godfrey was chair of the
Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation from 2009 until he was fired on May 16, 2013, by Premier
Kathleen Wynne
Kathleen O'Day Wynne ( ; born May 21, 1953) is a former Canadian politician who served as the 25th premier of Ontario and leader of the Ontario Liberal Party from 2013 to 2018. She was Member of Provincial Parliament (Ontario), member of provinci ...
.
[
]
During the Ontario PC Party of Ontario's 2015 leadership race, Godfrey endorsed Barrie MP
Patrick Brown for leader.
Media
In 1984, after he left politics he joined the ''
Toronto Sun
The ''Toronto Sun'' is an English-language tabloid format, tabloid newspaper published daily in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The newspaper is one of several ''Sun'' tabloids published by Postmedia Network. The newspaper's offices are located at Pos ...
'' as publisher and CEO. In 1991 he succeeded founder
Douglas Creighton as president and chief operating officer of Toronto Sun Publishing. In 1992 he became CEO of Toronto Sun Publishing replacing founder Doug Creighton. Creighton was forced to resign by the board of directors and the parent company,
Maclean Hunter. In 1996, Godfrey led a successful attempt by Sun management to buy back control, allowing it to become an independent entity once again. Two years later, Godfrey organized a deal with
Conrad Black
Conrad Moffat Black, Baron Black of Crossharbour (born 25 August 1944), is a Canadian-British writer and former politician, Publishing, newspaper publisher, Investor, financier, and Fraudster, convicted fraudster.
Black's father was businessma ...
to swap the
Financial Post
The ''Financial Post'' is a financial news website, and business section of the ''National Post'', both publications of the Postmedia Network. It started as an English Canadian business newspaper, which published from 1907 to 1998. In 1998, the ...
with four daily newspapers in southwestern Ontario. These included the
Hamilton Spectator
''The Hamilton Spectator'', founded in 1846, is a newspaper published weekdays and Saturdays in Hamilton, Ontario, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. One of the largest Canadian newspapers by circulation, ''The Hamilton Spectator'' is owned by Torstar.
...
,
Kitchener-Waterloo Record,
Guelph Mercury
The ''Guelph Mercury'' was an English language daily newspaper published in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. It published a mix of community, national and international news and is owned by the Torstar Corporation. The newspaper, in many incarnations, ...
, and
Cambridge Reporter. In October 1998, Sun Media was approached by
Torstar Corporation in an unsolicited takeover bid for $748 million. Godfrey said he was surprised by the move. Two months later
Quebecor Media Inc. made a higher and eventually more successful bid for a reported $983 million. Godfrey was a key figure in seeking out Quebecor as an alternative buyer. After the sale, Quebecor, initially heralded as a "white knight" buyer, forced Godfrey to cut 180 jobs from his newspaper. In November 2000, Godfrey announced that he was stepping down as CEO of Sun Media. There was some speculation that he was uncomfortable while under the control of Quebecor. He remained on the board of Sun Media.
He had been named president and CEO of
The National Post
The ''National Post'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet newspaper and the flagship publication of the American-owned Postmedia Network. It is published Mondays through Saturdays, with Monday released as a digital e-edition only. , starting in 2009.
[
] He was the president and CEO of
Postmedia Network
Postmedia Network Canada Corp. (also known as Postmedia Network, Postmedia News or Postmedia) is an American-owned Canadian-based media conglomerate consisting of the publishing properties of the former Canwest, with primary operations in En ...
, starting July 13, 2010. He took a $900,000 bonus during a time Postmedia laid off staff company-wide. Godfrey then stepped down as president and CEO of Postmedia in 2019; he remains as executive chairman of the company.
SkyDome
In 1984 he was appointed to the board of a new crown agency called the Stadium Corporation of Ontario along with
Larry Grossman and Hugh Macaulay. Its mandate was to choose the location and design for a new domed stadium that would eventually become
SkyDome
Rogers Centre (originally SkyDome) is a retractable roof stadium in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated at the base of the CN Tower near the northern shore of Lake Ontario. Opened in 1989 on the former Railway Lands, it is home to ...
. Godfrey stayed on the board until February 1989 when he resigned. He had been accused of being in a conflict of interest because of his involvement with a group lobbying for an NFL franchise in Toronto. Godfrey denied that there was any conflict and also denied that this had anything to do with his resignation. However, Godfrey remained on the board of directors of the Stadium Corporation, a separate entity, until 1998 when he resigned shortly before SkyDome filed for bankruptcy. He said his resignation would have no effect on the process. Godfrey said "... It didn't make much sense to me to have separate directors and shareholder meetings when the shareholders should be making all the decisions ... My resignation just streamlines the process."
Blue Jays
On 1 September 2000, Godfrey became president and CEO of the
Toronto Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Since 1989, the team has p ...
baseball club when
Rogers Communications
Rogers Communications Inc. is a Canadian communications and media company operating primarily in the fields of wireless communications, cable television, telephony and Internet, with significant additional telecommunications and mass media ass ...
bought the baseball club.
[ He stepped down as president on September 22, 2008, after eight years.] During his tenure, the team payroll increased from US $46 million to US $98 million. While the Blue Jays posted four out of eight seasons better than .500, they achieved no better than second place in the American League East division. In 2004, the Blue Jays purchased SkyDome for $25 million, far below its original construction cost of $650 million. The purchase gave Godfrey more latitude in controlling the total game experience.
Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation
Godfrey was announced as the chair of the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation,[Alt URL]
/ref> a role in which he served until being dismissed in 2013.
Other positions
Godfrey served on the board of directors of the now defunct CanWest Global Communications,[
][
] and as a director of RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust, CargoJet Income Fund and Astral.
References
External links
Herbie Fund
A fund Godfrey established with his wife, Gina, at the Hospital for Sick Children.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Godfrey, Paul
1939 births
Living people
Astral Media people
Businesspeople from Toronto
Major League Baseball executives
Major League Baseball team presidents
Canadian sports businesspeople
Jewish Canadian politicians
Jewish Canadian sportspeople
Members of the Order of Canada
Members of the Order of Ontario
Chairmen of Metropolitan Toronto
Toronto Blue Jays executives
University of Toronto alumni
20th-century Canadian newspaper publishers (people)
21st-century Canadian newspaper publishers (people)
People from North York
National Post people
Toronto Sun people
Canadian corporate directors
Canadian chief executives
Canadian sports executives and administrators